New Zealand’s accessibility laws
Gain a clear understanding of New Zealand’s digital accessibility requirements and learn what your organization must do to meet them. Whether you’re in the public or private sector, Deque can help you create digital experiences that are compliant and inclusive of everyone, including nearly1 million New Zealanders with disabilities.
What are New Zealand’s digital accessibility laws and standards?
| New Zealand governs digital accessibility through a combination of overarching human rights legislation and mandatory public sector technical standards: Human Rights Act 1993, the Bill of Rights Act 1990 – which ensure equal access to digital services for people with disabilities – and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
The Online Practice Guidelines serve as the framework for public sector digital regulations. As of early 2027, Digital Accessibility Standard (DAS) will apply to government Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and private 3rd parties that supply them. DAS defines the standard to meet as EN 301 549, while the universally accepted legal benchmark for private business is WCAG 2.2AA. |
Disability and digital accessibility in New Zealand
As your organization develops its digital compliance strategies, here are some key statistics to be aware of:
17 percent of people living in New Zealand households were identified as disabled – a total of 851,000 people.
33% of organizations are completely unaware of WCAG, and another third are aware but don’t know much about its guidelines. Only one in ten are fully aware of what WCAG entails.
A survey of 670 organisations (570 in Australia and 100 in New Zealand) found that only 3% of organisations consistently achieving Digital Accessibility standards for customers and employees.
Why digital accessibility is right for your organization
The benefits of offering accessible products and services are wide-ranging and include:
Equality and inclusion
Being accessible ensures that everyone, including individuals with disabilities, can fully engage with your organization’s digital properties.
Trust and loyalty
Prioritizing accessibility demonstrates your commitment to your users, customers, and community. Accessibility builds credibility and leads to increased trust and loyalty.
Innovation and competitiveness
Developing advanced accessibility solutions gives your organization a competitive edge. Building products and services that meet or exceed accessibility standards sets you apart from organizations that have not made appropriate investments in digital accessibility.
The risks of non-compliance
Failure to comply with New Zealand regulations can have serious consequences for your organization, including:
Litigation and Complaints
Private and public organizations risk legal action and financial damages (up to NZD $350,000) through Human Rights Review Tribunal discrimination claims under the Human Rights Act 1993.
Loss of business
Inaccessible platforms can exclude a large portion of your audience, leading to lost revenue, and exclude you from certain business opportunities.
Choose Deque for digital accessibility in New Zealand
Regional experts
Deque has offices and employees worldwide with deep knowledge of local guidelines.
Strategic Consulting
Our Principal Strategy Consultants help build, run and improve the world’s largest digital accessibility programs.
Trusted and proven tools
Our axe accessibility testing tools are the defacto global standard with 800,000+ installs
Team training
Equip your team with the skills to confidently build and maintain accessible solutions.
Frequently asked questions
What are New Zealand’s digital accessibility laws?
| New Zealand governs digital accessibility for the private sector through a combination of overarching human rights legislation and mandatory public sector technical standards: Human Rights Act 1993, the Bill of Rights Act 1990 – which ensure equal access to digital services for people with disabilities – and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
The public sector regulation was enacted through a mandatory policy by Cabinet and the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) in 2003 – the Online Practice Guidelines –which was established to force government organizations to implement web best practices. These guidelines combine two technical standards: the Web Accessibility Standard and the Web Usability Standard. In 2025, the Web Accessibility Standard was elevated to v1.2 which incorporated WCAG 2.2AA as a requirement. It applies to all public-facing web pages, web apps, and web-delivered documents (such as PDFs or Word files published on government domains) for core public service departments, the New Zealand Police, the New Zealand Defence Force, the Parliamentary Counsel Office, and the Security Intelligence Service.
The government is developing a broader Digital Accessibility Standard (DAS) planned to take effect in early 2027. It will expand mandates beyond traditional websites to all Information and Communication Technology (ICT) which would encompass native mobile apps, downloadable documents, emails, and hardware interfaces. Further, it applies to public-facing ICT as well as internal ICT – used by government employees.
If you are a private company, software developer, or IT vendor doing business with the government, the DAS will apply to you indirectly through government procurement. Because the standard applies to all information and communication technology (ICT) used by the government, agencies will be legally required to purchase software, hardware, and digital services that meet DAS requirements. |
Is accessibility compliance mandatory for private businesses and to what standard?
Yes. The Human Rights Act prohibits digital discrimination against people with disabilities across all sectors.
Strictly speaking, private websites do not have a mandatory technical standard they are legally required to meet. However, to protect themselves from discrimination claims under the Human Rights Act 1993, the universally accepted legal benchmark for private New Zealand businesses is WCAG 2.2 Level AA.
Private businesses that are supplying the government (B2G) would be required to meet the current version of EN 301 549 under Digital Accessibility Standard (DAS) taking effect in early 2027.
What digital standard should we be conformant to?
The universally accepted legal benchmark for private New Zealand businesses is WCAG 2.2 Level AA.
Under Digital Accessibility Standard (DAS) taking effect in early 2027, public sector and private sector doing business with the public sector must be conformant to the current version of EN 301 549.
If your business provides solutions as a private business as well as a government supplier, we recommend being conformant to the broader standard of EN 301 549 for all your digital products as it will meet the standards required for either New Zealand market place.
